Canned fish and meat products are most often packed with oil or broth in order to eliminate variability, enhance flavors, or reduce unpleasant odors and flavors, and also to improve the texture and press weight of the animal flesh. The packing additives usually contain moderators such as hydrolyzed caseins and caseinates or vegetable broths of various kinds. While these additives have been most successful in achieving an improved product, research has continued, in order to develop protein hydrolysates of greater efficacy and efficiency.
The present invention has discovered that a flour base, such as rice, pea or potato flour, or bean or soy flour, can be hydrolyzed under neutral conditions by a proteolytic enzyme to provide a new and improved hydrolyzed protein additive.
In particular, rice flour which is neutralized to a pH of 7.0.+-.0.5, and treated with an enzyme, including but not limited to enzymes such as papain, pancreatin or a microbial enzyme i.e., a fungal proteolytic enzyme, or another fungal protease can provide an additive that on a one-to-one basis has approximately twice the effectiveness and benefits afforded by hydrolyzed casein based products, such as casein which has been hydrolyzed by a proteolytic enzyme.
This additive, while intended to be used primarily with fish flesh such as tuna, salmon, sardines, pilchard and mackerel, etc., is also useful for canned meat, such as ham, chicken, turkey, pork and beef, as well as shellfish.